A Different Set of Choices
by Typewriterman
Summary: AU. Without their knowing, a fight against Destiny pulled them apart.  By their own choosing, Destiny helped them to meet.  Remake of "Walking in Their Shoes"


Bunny Girl and the Soul Reaper

As the sun began to set in the eastern horizon, the wide suburban streets of Karakura town were bathed in a beautiful orange gleam. As a result of the sinking light, the silhouettes of trees and lampposts and mailboxes and the like began to stretch as though they themselves were readying for the coming night.

The scores of students who had once filled the sidewalks with the clacking of the shoes and chattering amongst each other heading home from school had by now emptied the streets, already back in the houses or apartments studying (or procrastinating). On one particular street corner, water leaked onto the pavement from a flower vase, its top portion cracked and broken off. The vase itself—it was really a clear glass bottle, though—rolled to a stop as it bounced against the concrete wall.

In the middle of one street, a number of disheveled teens surrounded someone who had just attacked one of their own.

Stepping in closer, one of the teens, wearing a pair of baggy slacks and a blue shirt, cocked his head and bared his teeth, furrowing his brows in a habitual act of intimidation. "You come here, stomp Lil' Yama in the face, and order _us_ out like we was dogs!"

"You crazy, bitch?" another called out, gaining confidence from the first teen's initial barking out.

"Got a death wish?"

"Say somethin'!" The first teen tried to order, but their opponent only scoffed and flipped him off. No longer able to restrain his excitement, the baggy-clothed teen charged the aggressor with a strong fist flying through the air. "Say something you!" he yelled his battle cry with gold chains chiming out.

To everyone's surprise, a foot rose up from the ground, crashing the heel right into the teen's face. The teen didn't have a chance and he dropped straight to the ground, unconscious with a thump. Once the picturesque ideal of intimidating, the wannabe gangbanger was now left on the sidewalk facedown, motionless.

"Lord Buddha…" someone from the crowd gasped out, though it wasn't easy to figure out if that was in reference to the knocked out thug or some sort of prayer.

"She…she dropped Lil' Toshi!" Despite having witnessed a crude example of kick-assery, the teens couldn't help but gawk towards the small raven haired girl, who amidst her kick provided a view of her gym shorts worn under her skirt.

"What are you punks looking at?" She slowly planted her foot back to the ground, and placed her hands firmly on her hips after brushing down her skirt, all the while continuing her menacing scowl.

"N-nothing…" they began to stutter out, but they were quickly overtaken by the quick and agile schoolgirl.

"Shut up!" She screamed out, after dropping her foot down on one of the gangster's heads. "All of you chumps look at that!" She pointed a feminine digit toward the broken glass vase near the wooden telephone pole. "Question one!" she suddenly added to the shock stupor of the gang of four left. "What's that?" Scanning the dwindled crowd, her violet eyes zeroed in on the taller youth directly in front of her. "You! Smelly looking guy! You tell me!"

"Huh? M-me?" the goateed gang member pointed to himself, confused. "Ummm…an offerin' for some dead kid?" The girl smirked, and with a slight hop, immediately kicked the larger teen as a reward for the answer.

"Check out the brain on smelly!"

"Lil' Mitch!" another gang member screamed out in surprise.

"Lil' Mitch?"

"You okay, Lil' Mitch!" Two gang members ran over to help their fallen brother, and tried their best to smack him conscious.

"Question two!" The gang quivered in fear, as the girl's voice shouted out again. "Why is that vase…laying…on…its…_side_?"

"That's cause…" A third man started to say, "We knocked it over with our skate…boards?"

"IS THAT SO?" A sudden kick sent the responder spinning into the garbage cans to the sound of metallic clanks and spraying garbage onto the sidewalk. The two teens left standing now nervously watched as the girl approached them, fearing for their lives. "THEN YOU BETTER APOLOGIZE TO **HER, **HADN'T YOU!" The crazed girl pointed behind her, where no one stood but a short wall. Staring at it in confusion, squinting their eyes to see what they were pointed to look at, a bloody figure materialized right before him

"**Aagh**! We're sorry!" "We're sorry!" Don't hurt us!" They screamed in abject horror, leaping backwards from the sudden apparition.

"We'll never do it again!" Scrambling to their feet, they ran away, leaving the gray clothed school girl and the floating younger—and bloody—little girl amidst the unconscious leftovers of what used to be gang of bored teenagers.

The girl watched as the pair disappeared around the corner before softening her glare and smoothing out the wrinkles from her furrowed eyebrows. "Heh…I don't think they'll be back." She scoffed, and the raven haired girl turned to face who she was talking to. Looking toward the girl, she didn't even wince upon seeing the blood the beading down side of her face. "Sorry for using you like that." She sighed out.

"That's ok. I asked you to get rid of them." The floating girl admitted with a smile. "I was glad to help." Walking over to pick up her bag, the raven haired girl started down the road, still bathed in yellow and orange by the setting sun.

"I'll bring…fresh flowers soon."

The floating girl smiled again, even though the other's back was turned to her. "Okay. Thank you. Now I can rest peacefully."

Smiling herself, the raven haired girl brushed her bangs to the side of her face, and waved her arm as she continued her way. "No problem. Yeah, you rest in peace."

The vast orange glamor of the setting sun was gone now, replaced by the violet and blues from the darker spectrum of the evening. The awakening of the street lamps and lights that filtered out from within the windows of houses and apartments now cast unnatural orange glows at street corners or beaming out wherever curtains weren't drawn shut. Of one apartment in particular, a building at least six stories tall, the high school girl pushed through the glass doors and passed through the entrance with the swipe of a key card and into a well lit and unfurnished lobby and strolled toward mirror-like sheen of the elevator doors that promptly opened on her approach.

"Oh Rukia, back from school already?" an older woman, being pulled forward by two small dogs asked with a polite smile while stepping out of the elevator.

"Yes ma'am." Rukia responded with a graceful bow toward the woman and offered a polite smile. Without acknowledging the small dogs, the two of them made their way to the elevator and the building entrance respectfully. As the door closed, Rukia swiped her card into the available slot before pressing the sixth floor and heard the familiar mechanical whir of the car and a feeling of lift took action.

* * *

"I'm home." She declared, opening the door and gave a reactive sigh when only a dark void greeted her.

At the flick of the switch next to the door frame, the void transformed into a wide wood floored living room. Not only were style and situation of furniture modern, but the arrangements of the other rooms that could be seen from the doorway had a contemporary feel of strong looking mahogany, black and stainless steel appliances could just be seen in the kitchen. Moreover, on the opposite side of the entrance were the wide sliding glass doors that opened out into a balcony the size of most single apartments.

Setting her school shoes neatly on the mat in the entrance way, Rukia stepped into the apartment and closed the door behind her, taking the most efficient path around the chairs and couch, through the adjoining hallway toward her bedroom. In a blindingly casual pace, she pushed through the first door on the left and dropped her things onto the rug without much thought.

Her fatigue closing in after a full day of school as well as that street tussle, Rukia plopped onto her overcrowded bed, fully populated by stuffed animals and pillows allowing only enough space that a girl her size would find comfortable to lie down on.

A single wide beam of light filtered in from the hallway, her own bedroom lights kept off but the room was illuminated just enough for any casual visitor to navigate around the treacherously messy floor.

Aside from the occasional press of her foam mattress, there was only the soft sound of her breathing, and even then Rukia slowly began to tune that out until a rumble and growl from her midsection screamed for attention. It was the kind of sound that would cause a girl to kill anyone who'd heard it, but luckily no one seemed to have been around to suffer for such an embarrassment. With a huff, she jumped off her bed and walked back toward the kitchen, flicking her light on as she passed the door.

The kitchen, like the rest of the apartment, was modern. The doors of the stainless steel refrigerator were opened and closed, and the marble counter top that any home buyer would cry over was now covered in breadcrumbs from the "leftovers sandwich" that Rukia was constructing. A chicken breast here, some soba noodles there. A quick sniff test proved that that egg from two weeks ago was bad, so that was immediately disposed of, and whatever else passed the several ad-hoc tests that would at least trick her mind that what she was making was edible was added.

Looking at the finished product, it was obvious that it was something made as a survival gag, but she was sure a certain friend of hers wouldn't think twice as to add it to her dinner menu.

She wouldn't wash the dishes that night; she was too tired (read: lazy) right then and there, so Rukia at least rinsed them over and placed them in the sink, filling it up with water to let the particles loosen up from the plates and Tupperware until she got around to wash them. As soon as the roaring of water from the sink came to a stop, another one of her sighs echoed throughout the vastness of the apartment.

"I know it's tough, _Honey_…" Turning around, the teenager saw the floating mass of a spirit staring down at her. With remnants of a tie and buttoned collar visible on his ghostly form, his glasses nearly fogged up at the sight of her, and his cheeks reddened slightly. "…uh…hi…" The spirit gasped with a nervous chuckle and a gingerly nervous wave of his fingers.

"GEEZ! When did you…?" Rukia exclaimed, bumping her tailbone against the counter. Recovering from the jolt of pain, she decided to project her irritation at the floating nerd trailing after her. "I exorcise one, and _another_ latches onto me! Crap!" Though ultimately she knew it was futile, Rukia rushed back to her room and slammed the door before the ghost could say something again.

Plopping back onto her bed, the teen sighed and stared at the ceiling. A poster of a bunny stared back down, soothing her rage with its fluffiness and cute 'widdle' eyes…if just a bit. "When was the last time we had dinner together?" She sighed. Though she tried to put it off, Rukia acceded to the fact that she still had homework to do. Again jumping off of her bed, she headed to—though with much hesitation—her desk to start on her homework, grabbing her bag from the floor on her way.

Soft fluttering caught her attention and glancing around, she spotted a black butterfly floating about. "That's weird." She thought out loud. Fully distracted now, her large eyes wide and her curiousity was piqued in interest and followed where the bug flew about. "A black Swallowtail Butterfly? Where'd it come from?" Astounded by its sudden appearance, she stood up and followed it around the room, when a sharp wind blew from behind her.

Twisting around, Rukia was faced with a darkly dressed man. Like some sort of anachronistic feudal warrior who stepped through a time portal. His hair a bright orange color, his brown eyes were caught under a pair of deeply furrowed brows as he looked around, ignoring her presence. A huge sword was sheathed on his back and he near-silently stepped onto the hard wood floor—his own wooden sandals clacked as he did so.

Looking around again, the man breathed intensely, as if he were hunting. His hand let go of his sword handle, and returned to his side. Exhaling loudly one more time, his gaze became more intense and controlled.

"What's with all the bunnies?"

* * *

"_That enormous spirit energy from earlier should be over there…I think…" _

The darkly dressed figure stood still, gazing surely toward the apartment building across the street. With the slightest bend of his knees he pushed off, easily jumping the distance of the street; the laws of gravity weren't all too much of a concern for those of the dead. This was proven when he followed after the Hell Butterfly and phased through the building wall.

As he casually floated down to the floor of the room, a certain theme screamed out to his eyes. From the ceiling to the bed sheets, even to faint outlines in the wall paper.

"What's with all the bunnies?" He asked out loud. He searched around the room, losing the trail of the energy he had been searching for earlier. Walking over towards the bed, he gawked at the fluffiness of the character imprinted on the sheet.

"You got a problem with that, Mister Burglar!" A sharp kick to the back of his head knocked him over the bed, and tumbling to the floor on the opposite side. "How do you like it now, huh? That you got a closer look!"

First off, he was too stunned to respond. Sure, he noticed the human girl at her desk when he phased through the wall…but he couldn't sense any spirit energy from her direction to signal any clairvoyant abilities. "You…you can **see **me?" The man clamored to his feet from the opposite side of bed. "And you **kicked **me!

"Heck yeah I can see you." The raven haired girl answered matter-of-factly. "You think you're some kind of ninja with that getu-"

"Rukia, is something the matter?" Pushing the door open and stepping in from the hallway, an older man peered in with a cold stoic face. Only someone like Rukia would notice the look of concern ever so slightly reflected in his eyes.

"Broth—Byakuya!" she exclaimed sheepishly, knowing for sure that the man now standing in her room was one of the few who could see past her lying. "Nothing! It's nothing to be concerned about!" From years of experience, she learned that there wasn't any point in trying to change the subject, so Rukia didn't even try the tactic. "Gosh, my screaming sure has…gotten me focused!" Experience also taught her that vague partial truths were the best way of calming the man's intense but subdued concern for her.

With one last look around, the raven-haired man, whose long hair was now mussed from taking off his hair tie, adjusted his button-down shirt collar before clearing his throat. "Have you already eaten?"

"Yeah." She nodded in reply. "Yes, yes I did." Realizing the thirty-something year old's pet peeves, Rukia quickly corrected her answer with a gulp.

"Oh." The awkward silence continued for at least another minute, with the man named Byakuya leaning in like he had something to say. Rukia, looking between his reaction and the robed intruder standing nearby her desk determined that he was unseen, and decided that it was best not to mention the orange haired stranger lest she spark the man's anxiety before he moved to step out of the room. "I'll…make sure to get your lunch ready before I head out for work tomorrow. I'm leaving early again in the morning…make sure you go to sleep soon, Rukia."

"Ok." Watching Byakuya slip behind the door, she waited for the slide of the doorknob to return to neutral before letting her forced "polite smile" melt away. Unconsciously, her lips pursed while she aimed a downward glance at a certain picture frame that was placed face down on her bedside table. Within a single blink though, she remembered the intruder in the room and reverted to a stern glance when she returned her gaze toward him.

"Don't be so surprised." The darkly clothed man said. "Normal people can't see me."

"Since I'm a Soul Reaper and all..."

After a moment more of explaining, she could barely hold in her snicker. "Oh _really_…?" Rukia crossed her arms over her chest. "So you came all the way from this _Soul Society-_thing to vanquish an Evil Spirit. _That_ makes sense…" She breathed deeply, and suddenly jerked her eyes open incredulously. "Are you out of you mind!"

"What?" The man gasped in his own form of surprise. "You can see ghosts…but you don't believe in Soul Reapers?"

"Psh…Like I've seen a Soul Reaper before...if anything, you're just playing mind games with me. But if Byakuya couldn't see you, you're probably not living…" Walking over to the taller boy, Rukia casually began to push him towards the window. "Just go and play your little mind games with someone else, alright, Strawberry?"

"Mind games, huh?" Turning to face the smaller girl, the orange haired Soul Reaper pointed his middle and index fingers towards her. "Binding spell number one: Sai!"

Sharp pains shot all throughout her body. It was as if both of her arms were caught in a vice grip, and were tied to her body. Her legs too, crumpled from a sudden shock to her nerves, and she fell to the floor like she was just punched in the solar plexus. She took a sharp breath from the pain, while the darkly dressed man smirked at the results. She scowled at the fact that he now loomed over her arrogantly, but at least he wasn't trying to catch a glimpse up her skirt.

"Geez…" She winced.

"Heh heh…" The Soul Reaper looked at her with pity, "it's useless to struggle, girly.

"Go ahead and talk about my hair like that…I've lived the span of ten of your lives, so I've heard every name possible. I personally don't care if you _are_ just a punk-mouthed girl…but the Provisional Spirit Law forbids unauthorized executions…I'll let you off _this_ time." Contrary to what he just said, the strawberry-haired Soul Reaper reached to his back and the very large sword and began to unsheathe the blade.

"W-wait!"

Thrusting the hilt down first the Soul Reaper's sword clanked slightly as it thumped on soft flesh. Rukia's heart was racing just seconds ago, but it had just slowed down to be just bearable to find the glasses wearing spirit from before to have been struck.

"Wha…?"

"No…" the spirit whimpered."I…Don't want to go to Hell!"

"Calm down." The Soul Reaper sighed out. "What awaits you isn't Hell. It's Soul Society." Glowing, the spirit exhaled from surprise. "Unlike Hell, it is a restful place..." The spirit, still glowing, began to phase through the floor. Once its whole body was enveloped by the dark portal, a butterfly fluttered out; exiting through the window and into the night sky.

"What…what just happened?" Rukia swallowed to clear her parched throat. "Where's the ghost?"

"I sent him to Soul Society. I performed_ Konso_, the 'Spirit Funeral'." Standing up straight, the Soul Reaper re-sheathed the menacing sword on his back. "You know it as 'Passing On.' It's one of the duties of a Soul Reaper. I doubt that asking if you believe me or not really matters anymore…

"So I'll explain so that even _you _can understand. Be silent and listen." He raised his hand to display his two fingers, as if counting. "Now, in this realm, there are two types of souls. The first type, are the "_Wholes", _the normal spirits. The ghosts you know are of this type.

"Now the other type…We call _"Hollows"_. Hollows attack the living and the dead indiscriminately, and devour their souls. Hollows are **evil **spirits. Any questions so far?"

"Yeah…ckh-o…ckh-ey're ckh-ike hi-ckh?" Rukia mumbled. In her mouth was a black sharpie, and in front of her on a white piece of paper, were two cutely (and crudely) drawn animals. One, a bunny labeled "Wholes", while the "Hollows" were represented by a menacing (but still cute looking) bear…thing.

"How did you…_more_ bunnies?" The Soul Reaper asked with a loud exhale and was hit by a marker-projectile in retaliation. "Tsk…Anyways…" Growling as he wiped away marker from his face, "We Soul Reapers have two principle duties. First, to conduct Wholes to Soul Society by means of Soul Burial and second, to vaporize Hollows; which is my mission now."

"Hang on." Rukia, who was busy illustrating his explanations, spat a second maker to the floor and looked up at her captor. "You mean there's a Hollow around here now?"

"Yeah…" He simply answered.

"So what are you doing standing around here playing 'Bondage Party'? Go vaporize it!"

"What?" He stammered, caught off guard by her comment. After taking a moment to regain his composure, the man glanced out of the open window in thought. "The thing is, I'm good at taking them out once I find them…but I've never been good at the whole 'sensing presence' so I've got no clue where it is…"

"Wha-? Why not?"

_**VAWOOOOOOOM!**_

'_Ahh…what was…that?' _A drop of sweat ran down her face, and she involuntarily shuddered at the sudden sound.

"…With my senses it was a miracle that I even graduated from the Academy…" He continued to confess out loud.

"Hey, Soul Reaper!"

"What's wrong, now?" He sighed once again.

"'_What's wrong_?' That bloodcurdling howl! What was _that_?"

"Bloodcurdling…howl…?" His eyebrows furrowed at the mention of it, but he didn't hear any-

_**GWAAOOOON!**_

His eyes bulged at the sound. He instinctively grabbed his sword, and in amazement gazed at the raven haired girl. _"_That was_…_the cry of a_** Hollow**__!"_

For the orange haired Soul Reaper, this drastic turn of events was really quite unexpected. The only thing more surprising was the fact that this small raven haired girl, who had the ability to see, speak and even touch him was able to sense the Hollow before he did was just…unfathomable.

'_Damn it, why'd my crappy sensing abilities have to bite me in the ass now, of all times?'_

A large crash from the other room interrupted his thoughts, quickly followed by a sudden pained scream.

"That was Byakuya!" The young girl screamed out. The darkly dressed man headed towards the door, leaving her restrained on the floor. "Hey! Where are you going?" The Soul Reaper ignored her question at first, before turning around to face her.

"I'm going to go kill it! STAY HERE!" He commanded.

"Hold up! That's my _family_ being attacked! Undo your spell!** NOW!**"

He couldn't help but growl at the young girl's insolence, cursing at her continued ignorance of the danger presented. "Don't be stupid!" He yelled back, "There isn't anything you can do! You'll only succeed in adding to the body count! BE QUIET AND LEAVE THIS TO ME! UNDERSTAND?"

Rukia didn't know _what _to say to that. She lowered her head slightly upon realizing her role in this, but a second part of her truly believed the Soul Reaper's promise. Finally able to quiet the girl down, the Soul Reaper proceeded with opening the door to the hallway.

**GWOOOooooOOO!**

'_Damn…this spirit energy?'_He was slightly pushed back by the sudden surge, and braced as if an intense heat was emanating from a great fire from the other side of the door. '_I didn't sense it until now…'_

"R-Rukia…" a soft voice groaned from down the hall. The man froze, almost forgetting that most humans weren't like the girl behind her. Holding his shoulder tightly, the older raven haired man managed to bring himself into view of the younger girl. "…are…are you okay?" he grunted, trying to hold back a pained groan.

"Byakuya!" Rukia gasped at seeing blood run down from the man's forehead. Grinding her teeth, Rukia tried to desperately pull against whatever bound her arms together; she had to take care of her brother—no, her surrogate father. "Come on," he gasped, "I'll…I'll get us out of here." the older man smiled weakly while saying this, slowly stumbling forward in order to act on his promise before closing his haggard eyes and falling onto the floor.

"It's okay." The Soul Reaper quickly checked over the man. "He just passed out." He overheard increasing growls from the bound teenager, and jumped to his feet when he realized what she was doing. "Stop!" He commanded, "STOP! No human's strength is enough to break the Kido!" No matter how much he tried, the girl wouldn't listen, and she continued her resistance. **"If you force it, your soul will**…"

Forcing herself onto her knees, then with pained grunts, managing to stand on both feet, she let out one final screams, Rukia's arms slipped toward her sides and were now suddenly free to move. The young girl panted heavily from her exertion, but her eyes held their determination as she ran out of the room into the hallway. Standing in pure shock, the man only realized what had happened as soon as she passed him by.

_Impossible…'Bunny girl' broke the Kido…no, that wasn't it…she found a weak point in my binding?_

_That can't be!_

"Byakuya!" She shrieked out, checking his pulse because she hadn't heard the Soul Reaper's assurances. Her eyes wide, Rukia's hand trembled while grasping at the man's wrists, unable to find the vein in her panic. Thinking quickly, she rushed back and reached for something under her bed before darting through the hallway and out of the apartment while following the damage, baseball bat in hand in only her socks.

"Wait!" The orange haired Soul Reaper called after her, and he chased her down the hall. '_What is she…?'_

"Get out of the building! Someone call an ambulance! It's not safe in the building anymore!" Rukia screamed madly.

Dropping nearly three steps at a time, as the elevator was now inoperable she landed on the floor right under her apartment and quickly took cover behind a wall.

Peeking out slowly, Rukia cautiously surveyed the broken wall, destroyed furniture, and smoky clouds of dust and debris. She gasped and ran over to a fallen woman, and was relieved to find that she still had a pulse.

Movement attracted her eyes ahead, towards the gaping hole and what remained of the kitchen wall. Amidst the smoke, a huge dark figure loomed about outside where the ceiling and exterior building wall collapsed, with now the streets below visible, as it turned to face her.

**DOOOoooOOOM**

Its face a bleach white, a mask of vile description sat perched on a grotesque form of a body.

'_Tha__t…that's a Hollow!'_A huge difference in height between them, Rukia's eyes bulged at the sight of the demonic behemoth. '_When he said **evil**__** spirit**__, I thought it'd look human…but it's a MONSTER!'_

Her eyes were fixated on the beast, no matter how ugly her brain told her eyes; she couldn't look away. Her body trembled with fear, and the bat in her hand clunked and jittered against the hard wood flooring. '_This is bad! Really bad!'_She said to herself. '_Why am I shaking?'_

'_No, wait…I'm not afraid of that thing! I've seen _tons_ of ghosts! It's just another one!'_To the dismay of her train of thought, no ghosts had ever tried to harm her, her brother or even neighbors…unlike that of this beast that held a young terrified form in its massive hand.

"My Mom's hurt! Someone! Please…help her!" The young girl—Nana was her name—was someone Rukia babysat from time to time when her mother Hachiko, the unconscious woman behind her, had to go out to work on late shifts. Rukia's grip on the wooden bat tightened, and her body pumped even more adrenaline into her system.

"…Ruki…a…!" The small blonde girl gasped out. Unable to sit idle for any longer, Rukia charged the beast, clutching the bat in both hands.

Yelling out as she ran, her heart skipped a beat when a giant fist came crashing towards her. Using the bat as a makeshift shield, Rukia was tossed all the way back through the door and into main hallway, crashing into the opposite wall in the process.

Her back and ribs ached and roared in pain, but she managed to recover and push her small and lithe frame to a sitting position.

Leaning against the wall and coughing, she wiped what she assumed was spit from the corner of her mouth, unwilling to check the color to affirm her actual suspicions. Her violet eyes did bulge however at the sight of the annihilated remains of the baseball bat kept in the tight grasp of her right hand.

A shadow was cast over her head, and the whoosh of the Hollow's monstrous fist screamed in her ears as it crashed down upon her.

**GRAAAAAAWRRR!**

The creature's wails shook her again, but she was still generally alive at the moment.

The slight sprinkling of wetness spattered on her face, causing her to open her eyes in curiosity. Upon doing so, Rukia witnessed the darkly dressed man drive his large butcher-knife of a blade through the Hollow's forearm.

Immediately letting go of the small girl in its grasp, the Soul Reaper bounced off the ground upon landing and caught her in one arm. "Here..." He said as he handed the girl over and Rukia immediately tried to shake her to consciousness.

"Nana! You okay!" Tears openly fell down her cheeks as she nervously shook in panic.

"Hey Girly, shut it!" He called towards the raven haired teen. "The Hollow hasn't eaten anyone's souls yet!"

"It…it hasn't?" Rukia sniffled once, and wiped her tears away.

"Not that woman lying there on the floor over there or even the soul of your brother upstairs." The orange haired Soul Reaper said, as he pointed his large sword towards the lumbering beast.

"Wait! You said that Hollows attack people to _eat_ their souls!" Rukia yelled back. "So why'd that thing attack not just my brother but even my neighb-"

"Hollows are drawn to high levels of spirit energy…but they also attack opportunistically." He began to explain.

"What…does that mean?"

Keeping his back towards the girls, he kept his eyes trained towards the grimacing smile of the waiting Hollow. "I've never known a human who could see a Soul Reaper…or break through a binding spell before…I've never heard of a human with so much energy…" Turning to face her, the Soul Reaper's face wore a serious look. "I think it was looking…for you!"

"What? It was after…me?" She exclaimed. "All this…was because of _me_?" The beast, now recovered from the initial shock of its sword wound, stood up on its two legs. "My brother's dying upstairs…Ms. Eba…and Nana bleeding…all of this…"

"Wait…" He tried to explain, "That's not what I meant…" From behind, the Hollow raised its arm, and threw a horizontal swipe at the Soul Reaper, throwing him back through the apartment, over the balcony across the street and into a guard wall.

"Soul Reaper!" She gasped out. She rushed past the Hollow through the opening between its legs, carrying Nana into the apartment and behind a broken wall. Assured that she was hidden from view, the deafening cry of the Hollow brought her eyes forward, where the beast lumbered towards its prey.

* * *

"Shit…I failed to guard my flank…" The orange haired man cursed at his own stupidity. The Hollow's cry brought him back to the task at hand and his brown eyes grew wide at leaving the girl unprotected.

* * *

"Hey…you want…my soul?" Rukia asked the monster in front of her. With the knowledge that Nana was hidden just behind her, she stood up with arms open and walked around it, trying to lead the monster's attention to follow her as she walked further into the damaged apartment and toward another wall. "Forget the others! It's me you want! So kill ME!" she screamed, and waved her arms about to attract the Hollow's attention.

"Damn it!"

Roaring once again, the Hollow opened its mouth wide, and charged teeth first towards the small girl. Blood splattered and squirted into the air, as soft flesh was chomped…but not Rukia's.

Its massive teeth managed to puncture the Soul Reaper all over, but not before he engraved his blade between the Hollow's front teeth, causing wails of pain.

"Soul Reaper!"

"Idiot…" he answered painfully, "You stupid, _stupid_ girl…" Crawling towards the broken wall of what would have been a bathroom; the bleeding form of the man managed to lean against it and slid down until he was on the floor.

His dark clothes, once a crisp black cloth was darker, heavy and soaked in blood. "Did you honestly think it would be over if you gave him your soul? Then you _are_a fool!" Rukia gulped and shuddered over the man's words.

"I'm sorry…I just wanted to…"

"I'm not going to bullshit you…I'm too messed up to fight it now…It's just a matter of time…until we all become that bastard's food."

'_It's all my fault…We're all going to die!'_

"...Do you wish to save your brother? And those two…over there as well?" He panted.

"What? Just tell me how! I'll do anything!" Rukia pleaded.

Grinning weakly at her immediate response, he drew his large sword laying on the ground next to him and pointed it straight at her.

"Then _you_ must…become a **Soul Reaper**…"

"What? What are you talking about?" She exclaimed back, "I can't be a-"

"-you can! Place the point of the Zanpakuto—my sword—over your heart." He described the large sword in his hands. "And I'll infuse you with half of my soul reaper powers—that should be more than enough for this lummox." He kept a serious face even as he said this. "You'll temporarily have the powers of a Soul Reaper…to give you a chance against the Hollow."

"Are you sure…can you do something like that?"

"To be honest…I don't know. The chance of success is low, and if we fail, you _die__!"_Despite the nervous look on her face he continued, "But there is noother way! Nor time to think about it."

Her heart trembled at her choices…how could she decide to…?

"…Rukia…" the small blond girl mewed in pain just loud enough to hear, "Is my mom ok? …Rukia…?"

"Nana…is she having a bad dream?"

"Don't come…danger…run…away…Rukia…"

'_I'm not even her family…and she's worrying about me when__**they**__were in danger!'_

Wiping away the blood and tears from her face Rukia looked down towards the orange haired man and took one more steadying breath. "Well, Bunny Girl?" The man asked.

"Give me the sword, Soul Reaper. We'll try your plan." Unable to hold back a grin at her choice, the man lifted the sword point to rest against her body and adjusted his grip on the handle.

"By the way…" She interrupted his focus.

"What is it?"

"The name's not 'Bunny Girl'. I'm Rukia Kuchiki…"

"Oh…Ichigo Kurosaki, nice to meet'cha…" The renewed scream of the Hollow approaching them caught Ichigo's eye, and he seriously stared into the girl's violet ones. "Ready?" Looking back into the man's brown eyes, she delicately wrapped her hands on the blade nearest to the hilt.

"Yeah."

* * *

Author's Notes:

Thanks for reading, if you've read any of my past stories, been a while! Hope I've improved in comparison to past works, and I hope you'll continue reading when I post in the near-ish future.

I've thought long and hard about how to make this series work, improving upon what was "Walking in their shoes" to make this story. Of course, I'll still happily think over any suggestions that you may have, just send me a holler through either your review or a PM.

I'll be retreading some well tread territory for a bit, but with the twist of the Ichigo/Rukia switch set-up, and hopefully be able to get into some original stuff when I've set up enough things.

-Also, really FF? I can't do hyphens for page breaks?


End file.
